SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER, SPARK
The California Endowment is seeking a Senior Project Manager, SPARK, Los Angeles office. Reporting to the Chief Operations and Finance Officer (COFO), this hybrid role will report 2 days in our Los Angeles office.
We expect to accept applications until November 20, 2026. However, because we review candidates as they apply, the role may be filled before this date. To ensure your application is considered in the first wave of interviews, please submit your materials as soon as possible.
The California Endowment (The Endowment) is a private, statewide health foundation established in 1996 whose mission is to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. We envision a California that leads the nation as a powerful and conscientious voice for wellness, inclusion, and shared prosperity.
Headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, the Endowment has regional offices in Sacramento, Oakland, Fresno and San Diego, with staff working throughout the state. We challenge the conventional wisdom that medical settings and individual choices are solely responsible for people’s health. We believe that health happens in neighborhoods, schools, and with prevention.
About SPARK
SPARK (Strategic Projects, AI, Results & Kaizen) is The California Endowment's new enterprise wide capability for turning strategic priorities into completed, working results. SPARK exists to help TCE staff spend less time navigating complexity and more time creating impact for the communities TCE serves, bringing consistent methodology, real accountability, and cross team coordination to how the organization's initiatives get planned, tracked, and delivered. SPARK works with teams in a simple, repeating rhythm: Focus (identify priority work), Design (bring together the right people and expertise), Catalyze (create clarity, milestones, and momentum), and Transition (hand ongoing ownership back to the right team). It's a partner, not another approval layer; additional capacity, not a takeover; a connector, not a replacement for other teams; and temporary project leadership, not a permanent claim on any one project.
Position Summary:
SPARK (Strategic Projects, AI, Results & Kaizen) is The California Endowment’s enterprise-wide capability for turning strategic priorities into measurable results through disciplined project leadership, cross-functional partnership, practical use of AI, and continuous improvement. The Senior Project Manager is an execution focused delivery role, SPARK’s front line project leadership capacity.
The Senior Project Manager drives project and program delivery on behalf of TCE’s strategic priorities, working across functional teams that have historically operated in silos, managing projects from concept through implementation, transition, and closeout. This is not a back-office coordination role. The Senior Project Manager defines scope, keeps commitments on track, surfaces and manages risks, and gives leadership real visibility into where initiatives stand, while building trust with Program and Grantmaking staff they work alongside.
Reporting to the Chief Operations and Finance Officer (COFO), this role serves as a trusted partner to senior leaders, project sponsors, and staff across TCE while strengthening the organization’s overall project management practice. Because the Senior Project Manager routinely leads work, it has no formal direct reports.
Key Responsibilities:
Project & Program Delivery
- Defines project scope, milestones, and deliverables at the outset of an initiative, including who is affected, what success looks like, and how learnings will be captured.
- Breaks work into manageable tasks and sequences activities into a realistic, achievable schedule.
- Builds and maintains consistent tracking of progress, deadlines, and deliverables across assigned initiatives.
- Translates ambiguous or high-level strategic priorities into a concrete, actionable plan.
- Connects day to day project work back to broader organizational strategy, including TCE's 2027 organizational goals for a new enterprise operating model and enhanced use of technology.
Accountability & Stakeholder Leadership
- Holds project owners and cross functional partners directly accountable for commitments and deadlines, naming slippage plainly and in real time, rather than only documenting it after the fact, including in situations without direct reporting authority.
- Escalates a pattern of non-delivery to the appropriate sponsor with a specific, actionable ask, rather than absorbing it as an ongoing, unspoken risk.
- Communicates project status clearly and consistently to leadership, program teams, and other stakeholders.
- Builds trust with Program and Grantmaking staff and manages the natural anxiety that comes with a new coordinating function, this role is about strengthening teams' work, not taking work away from them.
- Navigates competing priorities and expectations across departments with sound organizational judgment.
Risk & Problem Solving
- Distinguishes risks (potential events) from issues (realized risk), and applies the right tool to each, prevention and mitigation planning for risks, direct resolution for issues.
- Collaborates to surface obstacles early, using good judgment under uncertainty rather than waiting for a formal process to catch them.
- Escalates issues to the right people at the right time, with a clear recommendation rather than just a problem statement.
AI, Technology & Process Improvement
- Identifies opportunities to simplify enterprise-wide processes and reduce manual, duplicative work within assigned initiatives, consistent with SPARK's Kaizen (continuous improvement) charge.
- Helps teams explore and responsibly adopt new tools, AI enabled workflows, and emerging technology relevant to their projects, surfacing practical use cases rather than technology for its own sake.
- Brings working knowledge of how AI and automation can support project tracking, reporting, and communication, and models thoughtful, mission aligned use of these tools.
- Partners with IT and other technical teams rather than duplicating them, SPARK connects capability, it does not replace it.
Team & Collaboration
- Facilitates collaboration across historically siloed teams, breaking down silos is a core premise of SPARK's existence.
- Coaches and supports less experienced project contributors and super users as SPARK's portfolio grows.
- Manages conflict constructively, including when accountability creates friction with staff unused to it.
Practice Building, SPARK's First Project
- Helps define common PM language, templates, meeting rhythm, dashboards, escalation routines, and role expectations across TCE.
- Supports adoption of a single PM software platform: setup, standard fields, dashboards, workflow rules, training, and usage expectations.
- Identifies and helps train “super users”, people with the interest and aptitude to become local PM champions in their departments.
- Supports manager readiness: helping managers understand PM role expectations, performance indicators, and how to evaluate PM contribution.
- Holds coaching sessions, maintains training resources, and facilitates regular meetings for the PM bootcamp cohort.
Operations
- Maintains SPARK's shared project tracking tool and reporting cadence.
- Follows SPARK's Focus → Design → Catalyze → Transition rhythm on assigned initiatives, bringing together the right people early, creating clarity and momentum, and handing off ongoing ownership once work is established.
- Performs other duties as assigned.
Desired Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
- Expertise in leading complex, cross-functional projects and programs from planning through implementation, transition, and closeout.
- Strong ability to translate high-level priorities and ambiguous problems into clear plans, sequenced work, concrete decisions, and measurable outcomes.
- Excellent facilitation, stakeholder management, written communication, presentation, and relationship-building skills.
- Ability to influence without authority, build trust across functions, and hold teams accountable in a way that is practical, respectful, and supportive.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to identify patterns, manage dependencies, assess trade-offs, and develop sound recommendations.
- Experience with project management and collaboration tools; comfort learning and applying process-mapping, workflow, data, automation, and AI tools.
- Knowledge of disciplined project management methodologies (e.g., Agile, Waterfall, hybrid, Kanban) and an ability to adapt the approach to the needs of the work.
- Comfort operating in a changing environment, managing multiple priorities, and remaining calm and organized under pressure.
- Commitment to TCE’s mission, TCE+ principles, equity, learning, and cross-organizational partnership.
Minimum Experience:
- Minimum five to seven years of progressively responsible experience in project or program management, business operations, process improvement, organizational change, consulting, technology implementation, or a closely related field.
- Bachelor’s degree in related field is equivalent to 4 years of relevant experience.
- A track record of keeping stakeholders informed and holding deliverables to deadlines.
- Comfortable and effective working across teams and functions without formal authority over the people involved.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook/Exchange, and collaboration tools.
- Experience working in a foundation, nonprofit, public-sector, or other mission-driven organization is preferred.
- Familiarity with a formal project management methodology (Agile, Waterfall, hybrid, or Kanban), whether from training or hands on experience, is desirable.
- Experience with SaaS project management tools such as Asana, Monday.com, Smartsheet, Jira, or openness to learning and leveraging these tools is preferred.
- Project management certification (PMP, CAPM, Agile, Scrum, or comparable) is preferred but not required initially (open to pursuing certification within first year); demonstrated practical experience is essential.
Salary Range:
Target Hiring Range: $134,298-$167,873
Full Salary Range: $134,298-$201,448
Compensation offers are determined based on the candidate’s relevant experience, market data, and internal equity. Most offers fall within the target hiring range, with the full salary range reserved to support growth and progression over time in the role.
TCE Benefits and Perks
- Shared medical and dental premiums for employees and eligible dependents
- 100% employer-paid benefits: vision, life and AD&D, STD, LTD and employee assistance program
- Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
- Reimbursement towards gym fees and/or wellness program and mental health care
- 9-80 schedule with synchronized off days
- Hybrid work schedule available for most positions
- 11 paid holidays + paid winter holiday closure
- Generous paid time off (PTO)
- 401k plan with generous employer match and contributions
- Matching gifts program
- Paid parking or public transportation subsidy
- Professional development and training opportunities
- Tuition Reimbursement Program
- Monthly BYOD stipend
The California Endowment’s goal is to hire qualified staff reflecting the rich diversity of all Californians. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to advancing health and racial equity in California. We are committed to creating a work environment in which all individuals are valued and respected. We encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds. We define diversity in broad terms to include race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, geography, socio-economic status, veteran status, and prior criminal history, in accordance with local, state and/or federal laws.
If you need a reasonable accommodation to search for a job opening, apply for a position, or participate in the interview process, please connect with us at [email protected] and describe the specific accommodation request for a disability-related limitation.
The California Endowment Los Angeles, California, USA Office
Los Angeles, CA, United States
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